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2024-12-24 18:00:59Speeding down the alley, she ran out onto the abandoned street and dashed across it, to the next alley. Her feet hurt, her legs ached with faticgue and her stomach churned with the idea of being caught. She'd heard of what they did to kids like her, of what they pulled, and broke and sliced and pricked. Serenity didn't want to become a science experiment.
Hide.
That’s all she needed to do. Find somewhere to lay low, until she could change her appearance. She’d cut and dye her blonde hair and take out her nose ring, hell, she’d even start wearing dresses and learn to do make-up… all to not look like Serenity Monaghan anymore.
Through another alley and out onto another street, Serenity ducked to the left, racing past the darkened shops. They weren’t open yet, and by the light tinge to the sky, it was just going four am. This would be a whole lot easier if there were people around. She’d be able to call out for help, someone surely would be able to help…
“Serenity…” The voice seethed from behind.
Head turning, the sight of the ambling Joe, running behind her in his pajamas, sent Serenity’s heart racing again. “Fuck!”
Running bare footed across concrete, her legs ached even more with pain, but she knew she would have wasted time, trying top pull on shoes, especially with how quickly Joe had found her.
“Serenity…”
Ducking to her right, Serenity stumbled out onto the road and across it, to another alley and down it. She just had to make it to the other end. Surely Joe’s fat body couldn’t keep up for long. He’d get tired and then she’d be able to get away. “Serenity…”
Her head turned for a moment. just a second to look...
Joe was still behind her, knocking trash cans to the side, sending rats and cats scrambling.
She cried out as her knee connected with a trash can, sending her barreling over it, rolling, coming to a stop on her back. Her knee ached and she groaned, laying there for a second or two, before she scrambled to her hands and knees, gaze shifting back down the alley.
Joe slowed his run, almost stopping in front of her and grinned again. “Serenity, we only want what’s best for you.”
“Get away from me!” Serenity picked up the first thing which her hand secured and hurtled the tray of degraded fast food at Joe. It struck him in the chest, moldy burger and fries dropping to the ground, but it didn’t stop his slow advance.
“Only the best, Serenity.”
Scrambling away, keeping Joe in her sight, her back connected with a brick wall and she looked up. Sheer brick. Glancing right to left, her stomach plummeted to her feet, she’d sent herself down a dead end. “Fuck!”
Looking back down, she scanned the alley, the trash around her, for something she could use as a weapon. If she could give herself a bit of time to get away…
“We’ve been searching for you, Serenity.”
There.
The plastic chopstick glinted wetly with grime and old food, but it didn’t stop her from reaching for it. Brandishing it in front of her, she screamed at Joe, “Back off, or I’ll stab you in the fucking eye!”
Joe chuckled, the sound not his own, “No, you won’t, because you’re curious. Curious to what we can offer you. A new life. A perfect life…”
Serenity gulped—then turned the chopstick against her skin, carving two words.
Help me.
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Claimed by the Horde Five
Joe screamed.A high pitch squeal which bit into Serenity’s bones and made her ears ache. The chopstick dropped to the ground; the words still bright on her skin. She lifted her hands, shielding her face as Joe screamed again and threw himself at her.The inevitable impact of a larger body hitting hers didn’t materialize and Serenity lowered her arms to the scene in front of her.Bulk.The figure between her and Joe was huge. Broad shouldered, encased in tight denim jeans and leather jacket; a large hunting knife hung in their hand.“Iraziel. I thought, I sent your sorry ass back upstairs.”“Noah. So nice of you to crawl up from the basement.” Iraziel drawled, through Joe’s fat lips. “Step away from the Skin Writer.”The knife spun in Noah’s hand and his head shook, blond hair flashing in the dull lighting. “Not going to happen, featherbrain. We both know, Skin Writer’s, belong to the Horde.”Iraziel hissed, his stance lowering, and Serenity’s gaze snapped to Noah, as he mirrored it.
Last Updated : 2024-12-24Claimed by the Horde Six
“You’re young. For a Skin Writer.”Serenity didn’t lift her head. Kneeling on the floorboards, her wrists flexed in the cuffs Noah had placed on her. By the time they’d returned to his apartment, she’d overcome her influx of power and had practically fought him to put her down. He’d slapped the cuffs on her quickly, to stop her scratching out at him.She was sure, in the scuffle, she’d heard the words bitch and feral more than once.“Come on, Serenity. I’m not going to hurt you.”“Then why cuff me?” she asked, finally lifting her head. “Hmm?”Noah lifted himself from the chair and walked to the window. It was huge and the view of the city beyond; breathtaking. But it did nothing to calm her nerves. She’d just watched someone—she’d considered a friend—have his own neck broken. Then she’d been taken to a strange place and put in handcuffs.She wasn’t exactly confident in Noah’s words.“That’s for my own protection, because I know what you can do.”“Yeah? And what’s that?”He turned back
Last Updated : 2024-12-24Claimed by the Horde Seven
Noah was so nonchalant with the statement, as he lifted the water and sipped at it that all Serenity could do was stare. Noah rolled his eyes. “For fuck’s sake.”Lifting himself, he walked to the shelf at the side of the room and grabbed a huge book, bringing it back to her. Sitting on the chair, he flicked through the book and stopped at a page, turning it around to her.Serenity’s gaze moved from the man’s face to the book in his hand and looked at the picture. On the yellowed pages, was a woman. Her skin was covered in ancient writing, and behind her, was an army.Scales and horns and leathery wings.“A Skin Writer is a woman of old blood, who can command the Horde.” He flicked through to the next page. This image, the woman had a figure on each side of her. Both tall. One pale-haired, one dark. They both sported leathery wings and bulging muscles, but angelic faces. They stood one step behind her, swords drawn
Last Updated : 2024-12-25Claimed by the Horde Eight
Noah had taken the cuffs off her, placed her in a room, made sure there was nothing she could use to write on her skin, then he had left her alone in the dark.Sitting on the side of the bed, while Noah moved around freely in the room outside, Serenity stared at the floor and tried to comprehend what was happening to her.Demons. Angels. Armies of Heaven. Skin Writers.She’d been too shocked to see the huge bat-like wings which unfurled from Noah’s skin, to ask too many more questions. What would she ask anyway? If she was drugged? Noah had already been adamant, she wasn’t. There was nothing to do now, only unpack the information Noah had divulged and hope for more answers.Lifting her arm, she stared at the spot she’d written on her skin. The words had long since left her flesh and the fatigue had ebbed. Her fingers traced along her arm softly. She’d never thought much of her gift. It was just something she could do
Last Updated : 2024-12-26Claimed by the Horde Nine
“Great.” She sank back against the sofa and watched the demon eat. While she wanted more answers, they weren’t quite the right ones. “How many Skin Writers are there?”His chopsticks hovered in mid-air, and he slowly looked at her. “Not enough… and you’re the only one not controlled.”“Hence why I’m feral?”He shook his head, pointing his chopsticks at her. “No, I called you that, because you fight like an rabid animal. You need to learn combat. How to fight against an angel and win.”“And what about against a demon?”“Demons won’t hurt you. Most won’t even come near you. You scare them.”Serenity cackled, “Ha! Me, scare a demon?”“You can control demons, Serenity. What you write on your skin, you may think is for humans. A way of getting by, in the world. But once you turn twenty-one, the
Last Updated : 2024-12-27Claimed by the Horde Ten
Serenity didn’t know how long the command would last. How long it would take for Noah to snap out of his stupor and come for her. It had been almost comical to see him freeze up as she had grabbed her bag and jacket and run out the front door.It hadn’t been so funny, when only a few blocks later, she had collapsed behind a dumpster and gritted her way through the pain and nausea. Now, back on her feet, the fatigue was sinking in and she didn’t know how much longer she’d be able to run.Digging into her bag, she pulled out the wad of cash and counted it. Almost three hundred dollars. It wouldn’t see her stay in a room for long, but it might get her a bus ticket to somewhere she could disappear.She shoved the money back into her bag and kept walking toward the station. Her feet ached and burned with cold, and she scolded herself for not nicking off with the pair of boots by the front door of the apartment Noah had her in.All
Last Updated : 2024-12-28Claimed by the Horde Eleven
“I thought I told you not to stay up too late?”Serenity’s head lifted; eyes gritty as she looked at Noah. Dressed in jeans and a white shirt, at any other time, she’d swoon at how good-looking her guardian was. But right now, she was too wired with what she’d found out.“Do you know once a Skin Writer reaches her full potential, she can write without the aid of anything?” she shoved the book to the side and stood, watching as the demon potted around the kitchenette. He lifted the coffee pot and squinted at it, turning back to her. “Yeah, sorry. I drank it.”He went to the small cupboard and opened it, before closing it again and turned back to her, narrowing his eyes.“All of it.”Noah groaned, shoving his hand through tangles of blond hair, and turned back to the machine, shoving the pot back into its cradle. “Just a word of advice. Leave coffee for us.”
Last Updated : 2024-12-29Claimed by the Horde Twelve
Having been sufficiently caffeinated, and fed from a little diner just down the street from the apartment, Noah led them through the city. The demon was constantly on edge, putting himself between her and anyone who came too close. While the gesture would have been cute, if he were her boyfriend; it wasn’t, when someone accidentally bumped into her.“Hey! Watch it, or I’ll slice—”“Noah!” Serenity threw herself in front of the demon, pushing him back toward the road and away from the stranger. “Calm down, jeez!”Noah eyeballed the man, who scurried off in the other direction and she pulled the demon after her. “You can’t just threaten people.”“Yes, I can.” He huffed, letting her drag him along, the bags hanging in his large hands.“No, you can’t. Want to keep inconspicuous? Stop creating so much attention.” She let go of his arm and started to wal
Last Updated : 2024-12-30
Latest chapter
Claimed by the Horde Sixty One
It would have been better if they were yelling at her.Serenity sat between Thorne and Noah as the darker-haired demon drove the car all the way back to their factory. She didn’t want to ask where they’d found the vehicle, or if it were stolen… she didn’t think it would be wise to antagonize them.After over an hour of driving, Serenity’s skin was starting to itch and she turned her head to Thorne, looking up at him. His brow was furrowed, his gaze on the road and she knew he was pissed. Gulping, she turned her head and looked at Noah.The blonde was looking out the windscreen, his jaw clenching and unclenching and the look on his face told her he was in just as good of a mood as Thorne.Licking her lips, she turned back to the windscreen and lowered her gaze to her lap.How could she have thought she would get away with this? Travelling to another city to talk to a Skin Writer and not have them find her?&ldqu
Claimed by the Horde Sixty
“No… It’s not.” Serenity put the glass down and leaned forward, wringing her hands. “I have done as much research as I can. But I can’t find the answers I need.”“And what are they, pray tell.”Serenity licked her lips and glanced at the door, to the pair of demons and her brow furrowed. She didn’t like the whipped look they had to them.“One of the tomes talks about the ultimate sacrifice.”“Ah yes… What a load of bullshit that is. There is no ultimate sacrifice.” Daisy waved her hand and Serenity blinked. “Demons are loyal, yes but they are also cowards. They will always save their own skin, over that of someone else.”Serenity’s mind instantly went to what Noah had done.How he’d left Thorne to the angel’s wrath.“But if they are the guardian of a Skin Writer, then yes, they may save her… if they ch
Claimed by the Horde Fifty Nine
Having put Noah’s phone back exactly where she’d found it, it had been a waiting game with the pair of demons.They’d both come in to check on her. She’d pretended to be asleep. They’d fallen for it and had both finally gone to bed themselves. Waiting the hour, to make sure they were both asleep… that had been the longest hour of her life.Serenity didn’t want to be sneaking out, running off to another city without them, but she couldn’t go with them. Not when her questions involved them.She’d managed to slip out of the factory and ran down the alleys until she’d gotten to a road and flagged down a taxi. After a few questions from the driver, he’d been happy to take her to the bus stop and leave her there.Now, she sat in the back of the bus, on the way to another city and to answers which could only be given by another of her kind.The man who opened the door of the
Claimed by the Horde Fifty Eight
“We can’t keep going like this, Thorne.” Noah’s muffled voice floated to her, and Serenity’s eyes fluttered open. “I know. But come on, you’ve seen the way she looks at us. I’ve seen the way you look at her.”Serenity lifted herself and looked around. She was still on the sofa, but a bottle of water had been placed on the coffee table. The condensation making a large puddle under it, she picked it up and gulped down half the bottle, straining her hearing.“I don’t care. She’s not a child anymore. We’re bound to her, and she’s bound to us. What the Horde wants and what the Horde gets, is two different things.”She put the bottle back down on the table and stood, creeping closer to the railing, but not close enough for the pair of demons to see her. She stared down at them, as they seemed to argue, Thorne’s hands waving wildly as Noah paced back and forth in front of hi
Claimed by the Horde Fifty Seven
Serenity was curled up against Noah, almost asleep, when Thorne came back. His presence was a shift in the air, and she lifted her head, staring at him groggily. Thorne’s gaze shifted from Noah to her and back and it narrowed at the pair of them.She sat up, as Noah stood and walked over to him. “Well?”“Malveran will see us in three days. No sooner. He has to find a suitable location.”“That’s good.” Serenity said, stretching. She’d snuggled up to Noah, as he’d been scrolling through the webpage used by the Horde. He’d read some of the reports to her, but after a little while, she’d drifted off. Now, under the gaze of Thorne, she wished she’d just headed back to bed instead. “So, what do we do for three days?”“Train.” Noah said, turning back to her. “We can’t be caught out again.”“But I thought you said Malveran&
Claimed by the Horde Fifty Six
Noah growled and leaped over the coffee table, pouncing on her. His strength and momentum tipped back the sofa and she squealed as he landed on her, a blade coming to her throat. “I’d be careful, Serenity. I know of three other Skin Writers in the world. I could gut you right now and the world would keep ticking over.”She stared up at the flaming orbs of Noah before her gaze shifted to the side. Thorne was standing over them, an amused glint in his eyes. “You’ve pissed him off.”“I don’t care if I pissed him off, Thorne.” She snapped, turning her attention back to Noah. She planted her hands on his chest, ignoring the hard planes of flesh under his white shirt. He was just as good looking at the darker haired man who watched the exchange. She pushed against him, but Noah didn’t move. “You honestly think you’re going to find someone like me?”“There are plenty like you,
Claimed by the Horde Fifty Five
“That was foolish.”Serenity’s groggy gaze shifted to Thorne, leaning against the doorframe. She blinked; her mind still clouded with pain. Her whole body hurt, as if she’d gone ten rounds with a boxer… and lost. It even hurt to breathe.Noah’s figure came to the side of her bed, sitting on the small chair and he leaned forward. “Thorne’s right. You could have died.”She looked over to Noah, her head thudding in pain, and rolled her eyes as best she could. She looked back to Thorne and as she opened her mouth to speak, her lips sung with pain, “You’re welcome.”Thorne’s eyes rolled as his hands lifted again, moving fluidly. “Thank you.”She smiled in return, hissing in pain as her lips cracked again, sending blood flooding into her mouth. Noah leaned over, gently lifting her to a seated position and placed a cup of water in her hands. She si
Claimed by the Horde Fifty Four
There was no way they could outrun them. Serenity stared at the mass of angels which had appeared behind Archon and her heart sank to her feet.“Fucking hell…” Noah’s grip around her shoulders tightened and she blinked.“Come on now, I’d rather have her unhurt. But if we must kill her, then oh well.” Archon shrugged. “Collateral damage at its finest.”Serenity couldn’t believe the angel would kill her, before letting them walk away. But then again, it made perfect sense. They were just as blood thirsty as Noah had suggested and it made her sick to think she had their DNA in her veins.Her gaze lifted to Archon’s and she stared.The grin faded from the angel’s face, and he scowled at her.“Hmm… quick learner, aren’t we?” His hands clenched by his sides and a few angels came to his side. They seemed like run of the mill humans, but Serenity could
Claimed by the Horde Fifty Three
“I don’t like this.” Serenity wrapped her hand around the hilt of the wand in her pocket and stepped closer to Noah. She could feel Thorne’s presence behind her, a mountain of muscle protecting her. So why did she feel like they were walking into a trap?“It’s not the ideal place,” Noah admitted, slowing his pace as they eyed off the building. “But Deri’amas isn’t exactly the kind of guy to fit in in a city.”“What do you m—” Serenity’s eyes widened as her gaze settled on the huge figure which stepped out from the side of the building. “Oh…”Covered from head to toe in leather and chains, the man who stepped into open was monstrous. His skin was a dark tan, covered in a shine she couldn’t quite pick. “Is that her?”His voice boomed across the open space, seething and off.Serenity stopped, and Thorne’s hand c
